A judge from France at the Winter Olympics is facing allegations of manipulating the figure skating competition to ensure a gold medal for her country. The French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron claimed the top prize with a total score of 225.82, narrowly surpassing Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates by just 1.43 points.
The controversy arose when the scores given by French judge Jezabel Dabouis were made public. In ice dance competitions like this, skaters perform two routines over two days: the rhythm dance and the free dance. Chock and Bates, who had previously won three consecutive world championships in the same discipline, were the favored pair in Milan.
Following the rhythm dance segment, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron were placed first, edging out the Americans who had to settle for second. Notably, five judges ranked the French pair highest, while only three had Chock and Bates at the top, raising concerns about the judges’ discrepancies.
Despite five out of six judges favoring Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron’s routine, with a minimal point difference from Chock and Bates, Dabouis notably awarded her compatriots a significant 5.74-point lead over the American duo. In the free dance round, five out of nine judges scored Chock and Bates the highest, while Dabouis awarded an imposing 7.71 points more to Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron.
The International Skating Union responded to the backlash, stating that score variations among judges are normal, and measures are in place to address them. They affirmed their confidence in the fairness of the scores given.
In a subsequent interview with NBC News, Chock and Bates expressed their emotional roller coaster following the judging controversy, emphasizing their pride in their performances. Bates acknowledged the subjective nature of the sport, where outcomes are influenced by judges’ assessments.
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